People or goods that enter or exit an elevator car create undesirable vertical vibrations because of the elasticity of the support means. Such vertical vibrations arise particularly in elevators using carrying straps as carrying means, which have been growing in popularity recently. Since straps have an unfortunate vibration behavior compared to steel cables, the vertical vibrations adversely affect the comfort of the passengers. The problem otherwise worsens as elevator height increases. For reduction of such vertical vibrations, the use is known of separate damper units that act upon the guide rails with a small braking force, compared to, for example, catch brakes or other safety-related braking devices.
A comparable generic damper unit is known, for example, from EP 1 424 302 A1. It shows an elevator car having a damper unit with a braking element, wherein the braking element is pressed against a side guide surface of the guide rail during a standstill of the car. To activate the damper unit, it is mechanically coupled to a door-opening unit of the elevator car. The braking element causes an abrasive, frictional contact on the guide rail in the active position. In practice, it has been shown that it is difficult and requires a comparatively large effort to reduce the vertical vibrations using a damper unit of this sort.
WO 2010/065041 A1 shows a further unit, wherein the damper unit has a friction member acting on the guide rail for damping.